tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682317472744519542024-02-19T08:49:42.521-06:00Three Fates and J Grow UpVictoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.comBlogger271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-2070552251147805202013-11-25T09:47:00.002-06:002013-11-25T09:47:48.179-06:00Is it really Thanksgiving?Wow, it's been a month since I updated this blog. The last thing I wrote about was our deck build. By the way, that's still not finished. I keep meaning too, but I've been so busy at work that I haven't had a lot of time. <br />
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To be honest, we really haven't really done much around the house. This semester is kicking J's butt and I've been trying to build <u><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThreeFatesDesign?ref=si_shop">Three Fates</a></u> into more of a business and less of a hobby. Good news, J only has two classes left and he will have his masters. Yay! Now we have to decide what we want to do after he graduates. Stay here or move. I guess we just wait and see what jobs there are when he graduates. We'll tackle that when we get there. <br />
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If you want, you can stop by <u><a href="http://threefatesdesign.blogspot.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-dinner.html">my other blog</a></u> and take a look at what we're having for Thanksgiving dinner. Other then that, there is not much here. We'll both have almost three weeks off in December, so hopefully I'll have some fun posts, I hope. <br />
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Anything new with all of you (if anyone is even still reading this)? Any big plans for the holidays? Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-65779199571895514622013-10-02T10:23:00.000-05:002013-10-02T10:23:37.399-05:00Deck Building - Kreg JigWe decided when we started this project that we wanted a smooth, no nails/screws visible on the deck surface. We first looked at a bracket system which held the decking from underneath. It was beautiful, but those brackets were expensive, and we needed a lot. So that was out of the question. We thought about just using visible screws, but decided we didn't want that. Then we looked at the Kreg Jig. It's a crazy jig that J used to build the bar in the basement. It hides screws and is great for people who are not wood workers, but what a professional look. <br />
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And they just happen to make a deck kit. It wasn't cheap, but it was a hell of a lot cheaper then buying brackets. This bad boy ran us about $60-70. But like I said, it was cheaper then brackets. And we can use it when we build the front porch, so it was well worth it.<br />
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So here is what it looks like in the box. You get a jig, two different sizes of spacers, a drill bit, and a driver. Plus you get a hand full of screws. We need two large boxes of deck screws, which were about $30 a box. Which seems like a lot, but the gold deck screws were actually more then this, so not that bad. <br />
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So how do you use this bad boy?<br />
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First you place the jig on your deck board. You line up the guide hole. Straight for the center of boards and angled for ends of boards. There are nice little lines that will help you line up the jig and the joist boards below. <br />
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You then use the drill bit provided to drill a little starter hole for the screw. You set the drill based on the thickness of boards you are using. So that little silver color you see above moves based on how thick the boards are. The jig has a measuring system built right into it, so there is no guessing. <br />
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Once the pilot hole is finished you add one of there screws. You can use different screws (we tried) but these work best because of the small head on them. You are supposed to use the jig for the screw as well, but we found out it was quicker to just screw them in. With a little practice, this was much faster. It allowed two people to work in a assembly line fashion. <br />
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And this is what a finished screw looks like. All tucked away and mostly hidden. I'm not going to lie, you can see the screws, they are not as hidden like they would be with the brackets, but they are not noticeable at first glance. You actually have to look for them. <br />
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I mean look at that photo, you can't see them at all. So we are pretty happy with how it turned out, especially since it was a fraction the price of what we could have payed.<br />
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And here is a photo of the deck as it stands right now. The facial board has been added to three of the four sides (but we still need to add it to the 46° corners) and the decking is all trimmed. It's going to look amazing next spring when it's finished and stained. Yay!<br />
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We were not paid for this post, it's just the method we used to install our decking. But if they want to send me something to try, we'll be happy to review it. *hint, hint*Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-51375059807703336952013-09-30T12:00:00.000-05:002013-09-30T12:00:10.558-05:00Deck Building - Day Six!We have installed all of the decking, YAY! It finally is a usable deck, not a finished deck, but a usable one. Which I'm okay with that. So what did we accomplish this weekend?<br />
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Well we cut all the overhang off, which made it actually look like a deck. First we marked where we needed to cut with a chalk line.<br />
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Then we got to cutting.<br />
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I snapped this photo quick and then held the boards while he cut them. But I didn't want to risk my fingers, so if the boards were shorter, I just let them drop to the ground. I didn't want to loose any fingers. We did the cuts in one complete cuts, no stopping. <br />
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And of course our little supervisor had to come over and inspect after the first cut. I don't know if she approved or not, she has some pretty sad tail. And don't worry she was no where near us when we were using the saw. That is too much noise for the little one. <br />
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And here is the 45° angle all cut. Look how pretty that looks. And it looks like a deck. And after we were done with this side, we did the same thing on the other side. And did I get photos, NO. I forgot to get a photo at the end of the day, well it did start to rain right as we were finishing up. We couldn't have timed it better. <br />
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So this is where we are now. This is about where we are going to end it this year. J is pretty busy with school, so the deck is going to be put on hold until next spring. Then next spring we are going to add the stairs and the privacy wall and the pagoda (I hope). But for now, this will have to do. <br />
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Tomorrow I will go over the process we did to get the "invisible" screws. It looks really nice and you don't even notice the fasteners. And I'll have a photo of the WHOLE deck. <br />
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What did everyone else do this past weekend? And DIY projects or did you do some decorating for Halloween? Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-54193860425313181572013-09-23T17:29:00.001-05:002013-09-23T17:29:17.696-05:00Deck Building - Day Four and FiveOh my, I let a whole week go by without a deck update. Well, we really didn't get a lot of work done last week. It rained almost everyday and last Thursday it rained so hard parts of Madison flooded. <br />
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Here is a photo from the local new channel showing flooding near campus. It was crazy the amount of rain we got. Especially after weeks and weeks without any. We were lucky, we didn't get the 60+ mph winds and hail. You can click on the photo above to go to the news story if you're interested. <br />
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The rain also brought on allergy attack after allergy attack. I was miserable and actually worked from home one day last week. It wasn't pretty. <br />
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So deck work wasn't really one the agenda. It had to take a back seat for the week, but this past weekend we got a lot done. I would say we got 98% of the decking on.<br />
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J's parents came over again to help us get this project finished up. It was my MIL's birthday, so we went out for breakfast at around 8:00, then got to work on the deck at around 9:30. The work only stopped for birthday pie. I made an Dutch apply pie the day, I love fall. <br />
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And this is what the deck looks like right now. <br />
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Okay, so that's not the best photo of the deck. As you can see we still need to add the front boards, that will hopefully be done this week. <br />
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We also need to trim the edges, as seen above. But these are two things that shouldn't take much time. But since I said that, they will probably the most trouble. <br />
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But you can walk on it and the table it back up there, so if we wanted to we could sit and eat out there. I'm going to try and get a few more pictures of it, but because of the size, it's hard to photograph the whole thing.<br />
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And if you noticed in the photo, there are no visible screws. I'll go over the method we used in my next blog post. So stay tuned. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-82044246674088094222013-09-12T07:42:00.000-05:002013-09-12T07:46:00.129-05:00Deck Building - Day ThreeDay three was the "You're on your own, kids" day. It was just me and J working up a storm on the deck. But it was a very productive day. There was a lot less measuring, so it seemed like the work moved a lot quicker. <br />
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Our main goal was to get all of the support beams up. These are the beams that run with the decking and sit on the posts. These are where the joists will sit (Joists run perpendicular to the decking). These are what give the deck the main support. <br />
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And what was the first thing we had to do? Measure. We had to measure how long the first one would be and then try to make sense of all the boards we had. We planned our deck at Menards and ordered our material from the deck plans we made there. You would think that they would tell you which boards to use where, they didn't. So it was like putting together a Lego Ferrari without the instructions. <br />
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Once we figured out what boards went where, it was time to get working. Like I said before, the support beams support (go figure) the deck, so they need to be beefy. You do this by taking two 2x8 and screwing them together. Then you are left with a big old board to support your deck with. <br />
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These boards get attached to your posts. So after we would put two boards together, we would set it on top of the posts and screw it down. You use special bracket for this so that bad boy's not going anywhere.<br />
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This process didn't take that long. The longest part was the 45 degree sides. That took a little bit of planning before hand. But overall, this wasn't that difficult and we were done with the support beams by lunch. Which was the first time all weekend that we actually had time to sit down and eat lunch.<br />
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After a quick lunch of left over Japanese (nom nom), we headed back out to start installing the joists. These are pretty easy, but there are a lot of them, so they took time.<br />
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The joists would go in the bracket and then we would measure the end to make sure they were straight. Once they were straight we would attach them to the support posts with a bracket. I've learned there are a lot of different brackets when you build a deck. <br />
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We got about half of the joists installed before we had to call it a night. So not to bad for a days work. And look at all we got done in three days. Amazing. I mean we're like 70% done already. That's pretty awesome. We're hoping that we can finish this baby up by next weekend. Okay, not finish, but get the decking on by next weekend. Then comes that task of figuring out how to install stairs, and benches, and a privacy wall, and a pagoda. But we'll be happy with decking by the weekend. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-24282616416999469292013-09-10T08:21:00.002-05:002013-09-10T08:21:45.726-05:00Deck Building - Day Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Okay, time for day two of deck building. The day that it sorta, kinda, maybe starts to look like a deck. Day two started at around 7:00 am again. Another early day. I wasn't even dressed yet when J's parents pulled into the driveway. My back hurt, my wrist hurt, my legs hurt. But I knew it would be worth it.<br />
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So how did day two start? Well we started on of the most important parts, we put some posts in some holes (people, please, get your mind out of the gutter). This was the most tedious, time consumer part of the deck. If I thought we measured a lot the day before, I was mistaken. Everything had to be measured and remeasured to make sure things were level and even. <br />
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Each post had to be measured to see where we needed to cut them. We had 10 foot boards, but only needed them to be 4-5 feet long, so we could get a couple posts out of each board. So J would measure the depth of the hole and then add a few inches on, so that we wouldn't come up short on any of them.<br />
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Once the board was in, J's dad would hold it straight and then we would slowly back fill the hole. You get to use a little corner level thing to do this. It attaches right to you're 4x4 so that you can make sure it's level in all directions.<br />
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We did this for all 13 posts. This took us a looooong time. In the hot horrible sun. It was 90 degrees all weekend. And we weren't even close to being done.<br />
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After the posts were in there was more MEASURING. We had to make sure that the deck was going to be level, so all of the posts had to be measured and cut. Here's J's dad measuring some of the first ones. The beams need to rest on the posts, so we needed to measure to the bottom of where the beams had to be in order to know where to cut. This meant we had to put in a joist, put a mock beam under it and measure from there for all of the posts. <br />
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Once we did that we double checked using a water level. This is just a clear plastic tube that has water in it. So we went to every post to double check our measurements from before. Luckily for most of this, I sat in the shade. I was a tad bit of a slacker on day two. <br />
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After measuring and double checking, it was time to cut. J used the circular saw to cut all 13 posts level. Then after they were cut, we went back and measured again to make sure they were the correct height. See, I said day to was a lot more measuring. <br />
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This was about as far as we got on day two. But we had the post in and cut, so the rest of the deck would be a little bit easier, right?!? You'll have to check back to see. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-15825261853677186332013-09-06T08:00:00.000-05:002013-09-06T08:00:00.785-05:00Deck Building - Day OneThe first day of deck building is pretty uneventful. Well, it's not that it's uneventful, it's just that the work you do on day one doesn't really look all that exciting. <br />
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First you have to measure and measure and measure. J measured everything out and put up string so that all the posts would be straight. You don't want a crooked deck. I ran to the grocery store to pick up some breakfast for everyone. This was supposed to take 10 minutes, it took 45. Last weekend was the first Badger game (and a home game), it was Taste of Madison, and it was the tail end of move in for the new students. Oh, and it was a holiday weekend. The grocery store was packed. So by the time I got back home, J had pretty much finished up all the measuring. <br />
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Around 12:00 J's parents showed up to help us. It was nice of them to come help because there were a few things that we couldn't have done ourselves. <br />
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After everything was measured out, it was time to mix the concrete. This process is pretty simple, one bag of concrete per hole. The hole doesn't need to be filled with concrete. I mean these holes were 18 inches by 4 feet, that would have cost as a fortune. The concrete just needs to be at the bottom of the hole to spread out the weight of the deck. Then you back fill the hole with dirt.<br />
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So we mixed up the concrete in a little black tub. This is pretty straight forward. You just put the dry cement in and add water until it is the right consistency. You want it to be not too runny and not too dry, just in between. Like making dough. <br />
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After it was mixed up, in the hole it went. We used a tamper to make sure it was level, but that's about all you have to do. Throw it in there and wait until it's dry. Exciting. This took us a couple hours to mix up all the concrete and pour it in the holes. It's a lot more time consuming then you expect it to be. <br />
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Once the concrete was in, there was pretty much only one other thing we could work on. We put the brackets on the ledger board. This is the board that attaches to the house and holds the joists. It was fun. It was more measuring and screwing (not that kind of screwing, get you mind out of the gutter). <br />
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Once the brackets were attached, the ledger board needed to be attached to the house . Our deck is a low deck, so we needed to attach it to the concrete footing of the sun room. I don't have any pictures of this because it's a four person (at least) job. But I can go over what we did. <br />
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We measured out where the anchor needed to go. They needed to alternate top and bottom between each bracket and be about 2 inches from the edge of the ledger board. You can kinda see in the photo above. Once these were measured out, they had to be drilled. Concrete anchor for this type of project are pretty big, so we needed a hole larger then 1/2 inch. <br />
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The holes were drilled into the board and then it was time to hold that bad boy up to the house and get it in place and level. This was the four person job. Once we had it in place the holes had to be drilled. We needed a pretty heavy duty hammer drill to do this job. Three of us had to try and hold this board as level as possible and then one had to drill the holes. <br />
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Once the holes were drilled in the concrete, the anchors had to be hammered into the concrete. Then the ledger board could go up on the anchors. We were right on, the board was still very level, so we just secured the ledger board down with washers and nuts. <br />
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Then we installed the flashing on top of that. The flashing is in place to make sure water doesn't sit on the ledger board and rot it over time. It's just a thin piece of metal that is in the shape of an L. You slide it on top of the ledger board and under the siding. Normally people will screw it in place, but because ours was a pretty tight fit, we just used some silicone calk to "glue" it down in place. <br />
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And that was it for the first day. There wasn't really much more we could get done and it was already getting dark by this time. So we called it a night, got some dinner, showered, and passed out. Just so we could get up the next day and start work again. ;-) <br />
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On a side note, I will be at the <a href="http://mononafarmersmarket.com/index.htm#specialevents"><u>Monona Farmer's Market</u></a> this coming Sunday (Sept 8). So if you are in the neighborhood, you should stop by and say hello. I'll be there from 9:00-1:00.Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-17463186786698015152013-09-05T08:00:00.000-05:002013-09-05T08:00:10.031-05:00Approved and ready to goSo after the holes were dug (13 holes that were 4 feet deep by 18 inches wide), we had to call the inspector so he could come out and measure.<br />
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This process took about 5 minutes I think. I'm not sure because I didn't even know he stopped by. I went downstairs to throw in a load of laundry and when I came back up, there was an approval tag in the yard. So that's good I guess.<br />
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My next step was to call Menards and set up a delivery date. We had purchased the materials mid August, so that was the easy part. I just called and asked them to deliver as soon as they could, which was this past Saturday morning. <br />
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We got these two stacks of lumber delivered at 6:45 am on Saturday. I felt bad because I was worried we woke up our neighbors, but they assured me they didn't even notice. Side note - J wanted me to point out that this picture doesn't represent everything that came, we had already moved some of the stuff before I took this picture. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49d0X2hFJRo3W9EM5fq0QqD5xDzovR0oQctISD9dlbgJnZ1j64CWV5QnVCZXtlksxgDp-m7yBJsqKM3vxGSdLIqfWZgjqcfZi85Ilg5ZRUs-hMkYjJmnPYwwADuPNNsq_gC_yptyeH_s/s1600/IMG_8938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49d0X2hFJRo3W9EM5fq0QqD5xDzovR0oQctISD9dlbgJnZ1j64CWV5QnVCZXtlksxgDp-m7yBJsqKM3vxGSdLIqfWZgjqcfZi85Ilg5ZRUs-hMkYjJmnPYwwADuPNNsq_gC_yptyeH_s/s1600/IMG_8938.jpg" /></a></div>
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And then we got started on the deck, but you'll have to stop back to see all the progress we made this past "holiday" weekend. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-62665467527614899942013-09-04T08:30:00.001-05:002013-09-04T08:30:11.342-05:00Wordless Wednesday - Little Pug<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0fYse7I_rrrWLDuVyG5Yyx5jq0ylkqAha7Zw3iTE4rhlDvU4JZLaIhlwei-xHL_nmVbDzQfF2hzHRZqUk1l8LLW9Dgebu9pyjFx7QjvXc3mWAZ8GkUrkk24dW_BlZiD0LS0KUuvC2g0/s1600/yoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0fYse7I_rrrWLDuVyG5Yyx5jq0ylkqAha7Zw3iTE4rhlDvU4JZLaIhlwei-xHL_nmVbDzQfF2hzHRZqUk1l8LLW9Dgebu9pyjFx7QjvXc3mWAZ8GkUrkk24dW_BlZiD0LS0KUuvC2g0/s1600/yoda.jpg" /></a></div>
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*Yoda has allergies, so the boots are to keep her from chewing on her feet*</div>
Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-25002658810874116212013-09-03T16:42:00.001-05:002013-09-03T16:42:29.518-05:00August 2013 Goal AccomplishmentsSo this past month has been a busy here. We've worked had to get a bunch of things done before this semester started. This is going to be a very intense semester for J, so we knew we were not going to have time to work on that many projects this fall/winter. <br />
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<b style="background-color: #f2f6f9; color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://threefatesgrowsup.blogspot.com/2013/08/its-official.html">1. Get the Plans for the Deck Approved</a></b><br />
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Done, Deck plans approved. We got down to the city about 15 minutes before they closed, but we made it. And we left with the permit to get going on the deck. </div>
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<b>2. Build Deck</b></div>
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Okay, so this was a little ambitious of us. Did we really think this would be one goal. This was split up into many goals. One was to get the holes dug, check. Get first approval, check. Get lumber, check. Pour concrete, check. And now we're currently in the process of building the deck. But we did get about 50% of it built before the end of the month. :-)</div>
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<b>3. Fix Garage Door</b></div>
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This didn't happen, we were too preoccupied by the deck build.</div>
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<b>4. Paint Coffee Table</b></div>
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I didn't get this done either. I wanted to get it done before J started school, but that didn't happen. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done this first week of September.</div>
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<b>5. Put up Shelves in Studio</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINlcSPp3IS1eUKbdeLzpM-jWME7H6X-vSc4Shh3Dg2XEQcCbN1-iMJVjHcwHZxonfncDHKt_GpLGKvJ-ou4ArA8CAqE-BN7g37mmgi9NbI5QOOl8dmB02F9DoGoyZuZsT-V4HKNbuzHY/s1600/studio02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span id="goog_1018831323"></span><span id="goog_1018831332"><span id="goog_1395831914"></span></span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINlcSPp3IS1eUKbdeLzpM-jWME7H6X-vSc4Shh3Dg2XEQcCbN1-iMJVjHcwHZxonfncDHKt_GpLGKvJ-ou4ArA8CAqE-BN7g37mmgi9NbI5QOOl8dmB02F9DoGoyZuZsT-V4HKNbuzHY/s1600/studio02.jpg" /><span id="goog_1395831915"></span><span id="goog_1018831333"></span><span id="goog_1018831324"></span><br />
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Done! I got a bunch of shelves up in my studio and now have a place to put most of my things. But this room is far from finished.<br />
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<b>6. Pick Out a House Color</b></div>
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Done! We decided on a house color. We were actually going to start painting last week, but it was in the high 90s here with humidity at 100%. That is not quite ideal painting weather. But we have the paint picked out, we just need to pick it up and start that project. Hopefully in the next month or so.<br />
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<b>7. Paint the sun room door</b><br />
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We have been looking at a primed sun room door since we moved in. It wasn't that big of deal before, but now that we sit out there all the time, it was annoying. So I sat down and painted that bad boy bright white. It looks so much prettier.<br />
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<b>8. Get rid of old couch/move bar/find new couch</b><br />
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This one was a few different goals. We sold our old couch to some friends. It was a really nice couch, but we just didn't have a place to put it. We then moved the bar to much nicer area. It's the perfect little nook. And finally we found a small couch that would fit in the basement. We haven't bought it, but we did find one. Maybe that will be a goal for next month ;-)<br />
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So we didn't get everything done, but we did get some extra stuff finished. So I guess that's good. The deck is progressing along and we should have it finished by next weekend (fingers crossed). For the rest of the year we are going to be focusing on cleaning up the clutter in the house. You know, getting rid of all that stuff that got hidden away when we moved in. That is something that we can accomplish while J's studying away. I also think I'll be working on my photoshop classes more, I've been pretty bad about finishing those. <br />
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So what was everyone else up to this past month? Did you accomplish all your goals you set or did you make new ones?<br />
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Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-4101220271677523862013-08-29T10:30:00.000-05:002013-08-29T16:16:22.867-05:00Diggin' some holesSo this is where we left off with the deck progress.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYBe7AJqHlk-_VoqnBz41e4J62b1m7EYymmcQ8K6fiIwO7M8idsEHxlyeSvAUCQ3Sp9T5WllN8OK-PkyNa9NhUkKGNYFgEUBRPCJmiELH9mLU7rwtiLwWmy4bzicyLO0JrUF0ehetGhw/s1600/IMG_8910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYBe7AJqHlk-_VoqnBz41e4J62b1m7EYymmcQ8K6fiIwO7M8idsEHxlyeSvAUCQ3Sp9T5WllN8OK-PkyNa9NhUkKGNYFgEUBRPCJmiELH9mLU7rwtiLwWmy4bzicyLO0JrUF0ehetGhw/s1600/IMG_8910.jpg" /></a></div>
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The old deck and planter are gone, now we just need to get those holes dug for the footings.<br />
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So, naturally, we tried ourselves. We went to the local rental place, which has everything you could possibly want to rent, and got ourselves a 12in, two person, gas auger. We can do this, right?<br />
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Well the answer to that is a big fat NO. J and I tried. J and his dad tried. It was a no go. Why you ask?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ27zhT0S9OOYOpE6C4HgpzN0rGGMwX9snnbkyS_d81ffZDC0c6Y9L4-esU-4f_VktnDftxVtFEn1x2l3MznYv-GZFkPyus5HMPkdBaepDEnUFtdDZDVojGYOeXNGAcbpvsKi5wm8iMks/s1600/IMG_8781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ27zhT0S9OOYOpE6C4HgpzN0rGGMwX9snnbkyS_d81ffZDC0c6Y9L4-esU-4f_VktnDftxVtFEn1x2l3MznYv-GZFkPyus5HMPkdBaepDEnUFtdDZDVojGYOeXNGAcbpvsKi5wm8iMks/s1600/IMG_8781.jpg" /></a></div>
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Because of this bad boy. Not the actual stump, but the roots that had been supporting the tree. The have pretty much taken over the lawn and we were not able to get one hole dug. We got close. We got one three foot hole done, but that was it.<br />
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So we had to give in and bring the auger back. That was $100 down the drain. I felt pretty deflated at this point.<br />
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But we started looking around and found a local guy that said he could come out and dig the holes for us. Unfortunately we had to wait another week, because he was on vacation. Sad face. That's another week of no work getting done and another week closer to J starting school. I am starting to think this deck won't get done until next spring. Super Sad Face.<br />
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But we waited and yesterday he showed up with this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_ppZQZooixYhAqTMWYBUCCyVmP9JU77MwoMZZ65mi6sTu41MsZnLUoRlJ8xJdO4IxOyUESO34soPhktB4gHtkY7mCgEnnnxo1ZeFA2knpV3rSOZsF1yRuDvr65SmaUg60W1o-z2dIik/s1600/IMG_8930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_ppZQZooixYhAqTMWYBUCCyVmP9JU77MwoMZZ65mi6sTu41MsZnLUoRlJ8xJdO4IxOyUESO34soPhktB4gHtkY7mCgEnnnxo1ZeFA2knpV3rSOZsF1yRuDvr65SmaUg60W1o-z2dIik/s1600/IMG_8930.jpg" /></a></div>
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He brought the big guns, he brought the Mustang. Now if that bad boy couldn't dig the holes, I don't know what could.<br />
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Here's a covert picture I got while he was digging the holes. I didn't want to be in the way, so I just took pictures from the porch.<br />
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The first few holes were a breeze. He would hit a rock here or there and have to get out and try to manually dig it up, but it seemed to be going well. There were six new holes in the ground, but then I started digging closer to that tree stump that has caused us so much misery. It was slow going and I was scared that it wasn't going to be going at all. That would mean that we had six huge holes in our yard, a bill for the landscaping guy to come out, and still no deck. I cringed the whole time he dug.<br />
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The first hole was done by the tree. I was starting to breath a little sigh of relief. But then it came time to to dig by the gas lines. We called diggers hotline and had them mark (twice just for good measure) the gas and electric lines and I knew we had plenty of room (you need to stay at least 18in away from the gas lines to use powered machinery), but it still scared me. Just one wrong move and we could have a gas leak or worse yet an explosion. So I just held my breath and let the man do his job.<br />
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Now we were up to 11 holes and all was well. That left the last two difficult holes. Fingers crossed this worked. My anxiety got the better of me and I had to go inside. Damn anxiety. But after only an hour and a half, we had 13 footings ready to be inspected. Okay a few of them have to be finished a bit, but for the most part they are done. We felt pretty silly for trying it ourselves. But you live and learn. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojdeFqAaOdcyBoiK-w6emYL2fq7B1O1Ymm1u_7tGFJGcHCPcqE1BZLdaJlOxH0B5bTyObBxh-jztoKecSeRDT3jipOkdpeu868u2CKWIKok2cpVZfh_5j-p3kn5uiakT4jwRkJR9Chbc/s1600/IMG_8934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojdeFqAaOdcyBoiK-w6emYL2fq7B1O1Ymm1u_7tGFJGcHCPcqE1BZLdaJlOxH0B5bTyObBxh-jztoKecSeRDT3jipOkdpeu868u2CKWIKok2cpVZfh_5j-p3kn5uiakT4jwRkJR9Chbc/s1600/IMG_8934.jpg" /></a></div>
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Now the downside of having the tree stump and all the roots, the contractor had to use an 18 inch auger. That's 6 inches bigger then what we needed. But J assured me that it was okay and we would still pass inspection. We would just have to explain to the inspector what happened. But that's okay, we now had thirteen 18 inch that were 4 feet deep.<br />
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Now we have to wait for the inspector. I'm really hopping that he can come out in the next couple days to measure and give us the okay. Then we can pour the concrete and maybe start on some of the build by the weekend. Fingers crossed.Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-942435043629356942013-08-26T14:38:00.000-05:002013-08-26T14:45:46.927-05:00It's OfficialWe got the permit to start the deck. It's kinda funny how you plan and plan, but it's just not that real until you have the permit in front of you. Shit just got real. So no more talking about it, no more dreaming about it, it's now time to DO IT. <br />
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We stopped by the local hardware store to get an estimate on supplies. <br />
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J's dad told us the deck was going to run us between $4,000-5,000. I nearly fell off my chair when he told us that. I know it's a big deck, but I was not expecting 4,000+ dollars. Luckily, it wasn't even close to that.<br />
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It will only be a little over $1,700, which is great because we have about $1,500 saved up. So we won't have to pay too much out of pocket, which is nice. I'm glad we planned ahead for this project. And the best part is we get 11% back as a rebate we can use in the future, which we all know we'll use. Our rebate was $200, yay for rebates. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZt_b9ReA0_uDIpwk-VuYIQOfFSwcVUxHPMZ0NzeVoDPxkOudmmm2q3bpF7VHgaQHpJV1juP9v4GPW-JqrH8gW7twD7OiF0s0SyeLANQLxH-KtHR6gJDJSHQnYzK1iBKk554VMxZcTCk/s1600/IMG_8909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZt_b9ReA0_uDIpwk-VuYIQOfFSwcVUxHPMZ0NzeVoDPxkOudmmm2q3bpF7VHgaQHpJV1juP9v4GPW-JqrH8gW7twD7OiF0s0SyeLANQLxH-KtHR6gJDJSHQnYzK1iBKk554VMxZcTCk/s1600/IMG_8909.jpg" /></a></div>
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So now the permit is up in the window. That means we can go!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-E5MfVZUyGaW9CFLu3PtHR9rt0BUBXlN35jR_KRUOmf9w6lZaijBcjFWGeg7jw9P9LS3KJHsWza55GIazRYGc3FhszHZ7Y9uOgrZhlZNJTt8s9e3p-6cdqQ_-Z0k5HyG14K12xAsOHM/s1600/IMG_8777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-E5MfVZUyGaW9CFLu3PtHR9rt0BUBXlN35jR_KRUOmf9w6lZaijBcjFWGeg7jw9P9LS3KJHsWza55GIazRYGc3FhszHZ7Y9uOgrZhlZNJTt8s9e3p-6cdqQ_-Z0k5HyG14K12xAsOHM/s1600/IMG_8777.jpg" /></a></div>
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First the old deck had to be taken down. This bad boy was obviously built without a city permit because it would have never passed inspection. But that's okay, it going.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG49pQYBGKgl_HVC5E9mZ_HeLkifJZRltFkungP_s313kYYw8gfdsO5P7g_3uwYGfVmpb-2Z8LW5YOZ82b_1MLi8Hv-u91awS8GLFGP0zSXNqigFioxvSIF9jfiORkWuQz6XftWY0Qvw/s1600/IMG_8783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG49pQYBGKgl_HVC5E9mZ_HeLkifJZRltFkungP_s313kYYw8gfdsO5P7g_3uwYGfVmpb-2Z8LW5YOZ82b_1MLi8Hv-u91awS8GLFGP0zSXNqigFioxvSIF9jfiORkWuQz6XftWY0Qvw/s1600/IMG_8783.jpg" /></a></div>
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This planter also had to go. As you can see, it's filled with a bunch of lovely weeds. The thing is falling apart and we want it gone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qY_aT_6CJUBFjb6l-VUKmHDNMv24pyLZgaE7F752zi6NXD7qONGePAybJIXYxkXF2y0WluFJjLviE79PB8uyemgphVYIFG3CpGvjyKLELhkaZDsLBhCONZ7kS7ZeGjeWVDWHnnko1Uk/s1600/IMG_8779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qY_aT_6CJUBFjb6l-VUKmHDNMv24pyLZgaE7F752zi6NXD7qONGePAybJIXYxkXF2y0WluFJjLviE79PB8uyemgphVYIFG3CpGvjyKLELhkaZDsLBhCONZ7kS7ZeGjeWVDWHnnko1Uk/s1600/IMG_8779.jpg" /></a></div>
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So we started pulling up the deck. I stopped only to take this picture, then I was right back in there helping J remove all the screws.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvHtvdB3x0kjX2B8oJTXv_v4txGfhEKAi9J8jgI2a-SoevNSeuf_THySb6Fm3FDKk3_iYkku-lvJSG_HFEdF_7V7e9WjdoDbhlU4NYgCIMwV9-lCIBLXVW5eNAkcwjZZ9ugkFj9tUmzM/s1600/IMG_8780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvHtvdB3x0kjX2B8oJTXv_v4txGfhEKAi9J8jgI2a-SoevNSeuf_THySb6Fm3FDKk3_iYkku-lvJSG_HFEdF_7V7e9WjdoDbhlU4NYgCIMwV9-lCIBLXVW5eNAkcwjZZ9ugkFj9tUmzM/s1600/IMG_8780.jpg" /> </a></div>
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Here are the majority of the screws we pulled out of the old deck.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFWqIHO2-dFwUJ8tJovb13ctuwX6lKO9D4ULtBdy_4Pm_AC2_WmP4k7qBUQ3NqauEDR4QTf5RdtvW0_6YGaIX9rGWSZxLW3O7uBlijT5SB7RcdJQTSEagSv2ErUcxUb9mEcYNdPDb9fg/s1600/IMG_8784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFWqIHO2-dFwUJ8tJovb13ctuwX6lKO9D4ULtBdy_4Pm_AC2_WmP4k7qBUQ3NqauEDR4QTf5RdtvW0_6YGaIX9rGWSZxLW3O7uBlijT5SB7RcdJQTSEagSv2ErUcxUb9mEcYNdPDb9fg/s1600/IMG_8784.jpg" /></a></div>
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Once all the top boards were off we needed to figure out how to remove the support boards. Luckily it was as easy as lifting it out of the ground. The old deck was not built with treated lumber, so all the old supports were rotting away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJIU4OlohTVPtMbgMYon5cZyAe9C3g7A9bKCAOIaQg9USwaeZS2sjcZtVvVcN2O21o_DiLunklUG-fi4RhasW8Fy6gH0jJTJ-JoRZNyRObizXghHbdLsdH0VQ4uXwxVl0apzLMMT4fM8/s1600/IMG_8911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJIU4OlohTVPtMbgMYon5cZyAe9C3g7A9bKCAOIaQg9USwaeZS2sjcZtVvVcN2O21o_DiLunklUG-fi4RhasW8Fy6gH0jJTJ-JoRZNyRObizXghHbdLsdH0VQ4uXwxVl0apzLMMT4fM8/s1600/IMG_8911.jpg" /></a></div>
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Now all the old lumber is stacked up next to the playhouse and ready for bulk pick up. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjG6a9RIzhB6ecX5LdvJMFB0kij0cUEwW0jWHYfvasq6tqVFYu7cGYSwXSYO1QbX0iS8o5BwlYLVfsZJCd5HV3P01qxwPFsuLBKWff8RUUtlT5q93VV-2ZBAWfhRyd-h3Qlx5VuVigDvo/s1600/IMG_8782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjG6a9RIzhB6ecX5LdvJMFB0kij0cUEwW0jWHYfvasq6tqVFYu7cGYSwXSYO1QbX0iS8o5BwlYLVfsZJCd5HV3P01qxwPFsuLBKWff8RUUtlT5q93VV-2ZBAWfhRyd-h3Qlx5VuVigDvo/s1600/IMG_8782.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here is an idea of size of the new deck. The steaks mark the outer perimeter. It's going to be a big ol' deck but we have to make it this size to avoid the tree stump.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTOskcuN8KhMNht5ClQRjatGIrnhM0nAzQDYB-OXeT5oxnpEfPebtn3nvs32-DJ7_lTWJW95Q_vP-Zw6Mz8JPf-B1N4wvq-WU8OI-ixiX_vGOL4JoFQc6zFFagIRqvEGop7AzH7BDBVo/s1600/IMG_8781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTOskcuN8KhMNht5ClQRjatGIrnhM0nAzQDYB-OXeT5oxnpEfPebtn3nvs32-DJ7_lTWJW95Q_vP-Zw6Mz8JPf-B1N4wvq-WU8OI-ixiX_vGOL4JoFQc6zFFagIRqvEGop7AzH7BDBVo/s1600/IMG_8781.jpg" /></a></div>
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This thing has caused us more headaches then we would have ever thought a tree stump could. As you can see, we drilled holes and then add salt so that it decomposes quicker. My mom told us this works, hopefully it will. I would love this bad boy gone, it smells like roadkill. There is some sort of mold (or something) that is growing on it that smells so bad, the flies come from the most norther parts of the state. It's BAD. So the sooner it's gone the better.<br />
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So this is where we are right now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuEQeWN279flJrYB96GL3Fqm7llvUtnGRslEM_3GX0TQ_Xxu3O46GEfM4C3stqLFhDnlXp5023anq2lgpQx54EUsJcskienugoWWixL-PCxNEj446usZaonROvZBZFlS5baRFtJuieMs/s1600/IMG_8910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuEQeWN279flJrYB96GL3Fqm7llvUtnGRslEM_3GX0TQ_Xxu3O46GEfM4C3stqLFhDnlXp5023anq2lgpQx54EUsJcskienugoWWixL-PCxNEj446usZaonROvZBZFlS5baRFtJuieMs/s1600/IMG_8910.jpg" /></a></div>
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Just an unhappy looking backyard waiting for a new deck. I'm hoping that this week brings holes dug and the inspector to okay them. Then we can be on our marry way. Fingers crossed.<br />
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I'm having a giveaway over on my other blog, <a href="http://threefatesdesign.blogspot.com/2013/08/time-for-another-august-giveaway.html"><u>Three Fates Design</u></a>. Stop by to see how you can enter to win this awesome beaded triangle necklace. </div>
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<a href="http://threefatesdesign.blogspot.com/2013/08/time-for-another-august-giveaway.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIqBpAiTT638OXLT5xLv_0cZNJc8Ju6GcQ2qYNLwj9Kad-deLMpKKnqP1_vQOqqCfn0MMYH5xPoF5CICYt-IkeL1LypGzrHBX2bEQ97iGHEpexv83jhwu4CRItpG3tZfaDAUJ_M_fIPE/s320/giveaway01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-37680611173644132792013-08-21T12:05:00.000-05:002013-08-21T12:05:04.360-05:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj282Pct35aF29TO3qz1AmxK2JJhQ_hGktAXJ1ffFkvMY-LE4wfPrZiNPW16woxtGJGrEXcUASd9K9tyJsSPEMhFVmHRc3sOnOC_xwqAT4fdGzDroX1IpFlbkneHInI3pATnO4Fh_8l6j8/s1600/IMG_8855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj282Pct35aF29TO3qz1AmxK2JJhQ_hGktAXJ1ffFkvMY-LE4wfPrZiNPW16woxtGJGrEXcUASd9K9tyJsSPEMhFVmHRc3sOnOC_xwqAT4fdGzDroX1IpFlbkneHInI3pATnO4Fh_8l6j8/s600/IMG_8855.jpg"/></a></div>
<br />Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-49462224450476075532013-08-14T16:42:00.000-05:002013-08-14T16:42:05.190-05:00Wordless Wednesday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR35T6ZB0ep26wFtXjOhGo_8ioZ6eV_Skvvv-33h14K7WYu18YF39XzEbUmrOP7K0CRtqzrwWxG57FsOXq5mLMMgO7VOFtFRPoEofTttBskTzmFXbGygGetD9g40C41p3rGdj56iVUE6A/s1600/Little-yoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR35T6ZB0ep26wFtXjOhGo_8ioZ6eV_Skvvv-33h14K7WYu18YF39XzEbUmrOP7K0CRtqzrwWxG57FsOXq5mLMMgO7VOFtFRPoEofTttBskTzmFXbGygGetD9g40C41p3rGdj56iVUE6A/s1600/Little-yoda.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-55078743126210342022013-08-07T08:00:00.000-05:002013-08-07T08:00:00.997-05:00Wordless Wednesday - Sleepy Nacho<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJtdLAnkPu6wXXDOyOO6unFhNwSHqbp1eTJivT9905XpFbPGCr0nG4bch3Ik9ZWmx99IsLSZNoKJMVVZxSocibm0EM4-AAIy7kK74VsCERsZpBx6KPG-LFnAdDqDdX613GDpm0Y9r_ww/s1600/Something-that-begins-with-N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJtdLAnkPu6wXXDOyOO6unFhNwSHqbp1eTJivT9905XpFbPGCr0nG4bch3Ik9ZWmx99IsLSZNoKJMVVZxSocibm0EM4-AAIy7kK74VsCERsZpBx6KPG-LFnAdDqDdX613GDpm0Y9r_ww/s550/Something-that-begins-with-N.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-25426743092224964582013-08-06T08:00:00.000-05:002013-08-06T08:00:00.916-05:00August 2013 GoalsWell another month has ended and another is beginning. This is the last month of our summer before J goes back to class. So it's crunch time. Time to buckle down and get crap done. So what are our plans?<br />
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<b>1. Get the Plans for the Deck Approved</b></div>
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We have the plans all drawn out and an estimate on what it's going to cost. We have a mock up of what it's going to look like in the backyard and we've had the utility company come out and mark lines. So we're ready to go. Now we just need to get down to the city office and get a permit. Luckily, the permit can be issued same day, so we can start ASAP. </div>
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<b>2. Build Deck</b></div>
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Once we get the permit, the obvious thing is to get the deck built. I'm hoping that we can get it finished in a couple weekends. Hopefully once the inspector comes out and okays our post holes, we'll be on our way. </div>
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<b>3. Fix Garage Door</b></div>
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This was on the list for last month and we didn't get it done. So hopefully we'll make some time to fix this bad boy. Then maybe it won't make a noise like the gates of hell are being opened up every time we open the garage door. </div>
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<b>4. Paint Coffee Table</b><br />
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This was a goal for last month that I also didn't get finished. But I'm hoping to get this bad boy knocked out this month.<br />
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<b>5. Put up Shelves in Studio</b><br />
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I would like to add some additional shelving to my studio so I have more room to work. I'm hoping to get that room more organized this month.<br />
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<b>6. Pick Out a House Color</b><br />
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We would like to get the house painted this year still, but we have to pick out a color first. So if we get the color picked out this month, we'll be happy. <br />
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So that is what we have planned for this month. What is everyone else working on?<br />
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<b>Don't forget to stop by <a href="http://threefatesdesign.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-giveaway.html"><u>my other blog</u></a> and enter to win a beaded cuff. You have until August 11th, so hurry. :-)</b></div>
Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-4055450289508969332013-08-05T17:21:00.000-05:002013-08-05T17:36:36.593-05:00July 2013 Goal Accomplishments <div style="background-color: #f2f6f9; color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<b><strike>1. Paint the sun porch</strike></b></div>
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Done and done. Okay not 100%, but 95% done. The outside door, patio door, and back door all need to be painted, but other then that, it's done. Now it's time to decorate. YAY! </div>
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<b><strike>2. Call Diggers Hotline</strike></b></div>
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Done! I called and they came out next day to mark the lines. </div>
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<b>3. Clean out the little play house</b></div>
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Sorta done. J has done a really great job of cleaning this out and getting rid of quite a few car parts. Now to just finish and get this bad boy taken down.</div>
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<b><strike>4. Draw up deck plans</strike></b></div>
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Done! We have the plans all cut up and even approved by J's dad. Now we need to make that appointment for the city to approve them. Then it's deck building time. </div>
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<strike><b>5. Cut up large logs</b></strike><br />
<b> </b>They are cut up and sitting next to the little house. I'm hoping that when the city comes to cut down the trees in the neighbor's yard, I can ask them to take the tree logs with them. </div>
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<b>6. Fix the down spouts</b></div>
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All the down spouts around our home are about 2-3 feet off the ground. We need to lengthen them so the reach the ground. Right now if you aren't paying attention, you will run into them with your knees. We also would like to put the ends that fold up, so it is easier to mow under them. This will hopefully be an easy fix that we can knock out in a weekend. </div>
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<b>7. Fix the garage door</b></div>
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Our garage door makes the most god awful noise when you open or close it. J needs to realign it because it was not installed properly. </div>
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<b>8. Find out about gas line for garage</b></div>
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J would like to install a garage heater before winter this year, but this requires a gas line to be run to the garage. Hopefully after they come out and mark the gas line, we can call heating places and get some quotes.</div>
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<b>9. Finish coffee table</b></div>
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I would like to finish the paint on our coffee table. I stained it last year, but would like to paint the legs a lighter color this year. I'm hoping that this will be a simple afternoon project. </div>
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So that's what we accomplished last month. Not everything, but a good start. What did everyone else accomplish this last month?</div>
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On a side note, I'm having a giveaway over at <a href="http://threefatesdesign.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-giveaway.html"><u>my other blog</u></a>. Check it out and you can win a beautiful beaded cuff. </div>
Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-17301589792802158262013-08-01T17:02:00.001-05:002013-08-01T17:02:29.489-05:00Garden Update - July 2013Well I've been slacking with posts again. I mean this is the July garden update in August. Ugh. I don't have much of an excuse except that I've been a busy girl. I've also had a killer migraine that I wish would just go away, but I think it might be here to stay for a while. Yuk. <br />
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But I do have a garden update (the sun kept going behind clouds, so some of the pictures are sunny and some are not). You can see what the plants looked like a month ago by clicking <u><a href="http://threefatesgrowsup.blogspot.com/2013/06/garden-update-june-2013.html">here</a></u>. <br />
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First up are the broccoli and kohlrabi. They are really starting to get big. I'm not sure if the broccoli are getting big enough to produce actual broccoli, but I'm still holding out hope (they are in front). Everything had to be started so late this year, that nothing is growing like it should. But I'll keep holding out hope that I'll get some broccoli this year. I hope to at least get some kohlrabi (the purple and green ones in the back). Fingers crossed.<br />
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Then my sad looking snow peas. Last month they were healthy and large. Then I got too rough with them and broke two of the larger plants main stalk, which caused them to die and me to cut them down. Sad face. But I have gotten a LOT of snow peas so far, so I guess I'm happy.<br />
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My lettuce was attacked by something, but I cut it back and it's starting to grow back. I've also started a third section of it and because it grows so fast, I'll have new fresh lettuce in a month or so. Oh, and just to let you know, this stuff tastes amazing. <br />
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My basil plant is still doing well. I've cut it back a few times and
been making and freezing pesto.<br />
It's yummy. I cut it back the day
before this picture was taken, so it looks a little small. <br />
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I also added a Greek basil plant. <br />
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Some rosemary. This stuff smells so good. The smell stays on my hands for hours after I touch it.<br />
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And I added some sage. I don't really use a lot of sage in my cooking, but I thought maybe I would try it. Why not. <br />
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My tomato plants and pepper plants are growing, but at a pretty slow pace. <br />
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The Juliet tomatoes are definitely doing the best. But the colder weather is just not being very nice to them (It got down in to the 50s last weekend). I have gotten two yellow boys, one black krim, and a ton of Juliets, so it hasn't been a total failure. <br />
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My pepper plants seem to be growing now, they just wanted to take their time. They have buds on them, so I'm hoping to get something out of them.<br />
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The carrots seem to be doing pretty good. It looked like something had gotten to them, but they are still growing. These are going to be great. I can't wait to see the purple carrots.<br />
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My parsley had started to flower, so I had to cut it down a lot! But it's hardy and will grow back. It always does.<br />
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The mint is crazy, like always. I just cut it back and brought a ton of mint to work. I've been enjoying it in my water with a little bit of lime. <br />
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I've also propagated four plants from this guy. One plant went to a guy at work and another went to my MIL. The other two will go up on the deck (which is almost ready to be started, squee).<br />
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And remember how I had to restart me cucumbers and zucchini three times because of the slugs. Well look at where that little fresh out of the ground sprout is today. In just one month, I now have three cucumber plants and two zucchini plants. <br />
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Okay, I bought two of the cucumber plants because I wasn't sure if I would get anything, but the one I started from seed is doing awesome. It also shows me that when I start me plants from seeds I get nicer looking results. I can't wait for these babies. Oh the pickles I will make. <br />
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So that's the garden right now. It's not as full as it could be, but it's something. The strange weather we've been having (or is it normal weather, I can't tell), has not been kind to my little plants. Hot and humid one week and then cold and overcast the next. With sporadic downpours here and there. <br />
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I'm a little jealous of the neighbors garden. This is her first year with one, and it looks pretty nice. Though she did start with much larger plants then I did, so she had a bit of a head start. Next year will be better because I'll make sure to start me seeds early. The plants I grow from seeds always do better then when I start with store bought plants. And I feel pretty excited when something I planted as a seed grows into a large plant. <br />
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Check back next month to see what the garden looks like at three months old. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-90286030351826380872013-07-22T14:58:00.004-05:002013-07-22T15:01:32.844-05:00It's sure is sunny in here.Okay so it has been quite a long time since I posted on here. It's not entirely my fault. I've been having problems with Chrome ever since I updated Windows. So for the last two weeks I've been devoting a few hours a day to trying to get it to work. But I finally gave in and just switched back to Firefox for now. Maybe someday Chrome will work for me again.<br />
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But in the mean time, I have been working my little butt off trying to get the sun room finished up. You might remember that I primed it last summer. So it's looked like this for months and months.<br />
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It was the catch all room. All of our junk got thrown in here, as you can see above. Bikes, half finished projects, in progress projects, boxes, old furniture. You name it, it was in here. And every time we would clean it out, it would only stay clean for a week or so, then it looked like this again. Blah.<br />
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But no more. We picked out paint and I was determined for this to be my first project I finished. I wanted this done!<br />
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We went with a lovely pale yellow. It's so pretty out there. I was a little worried when I started painting. I was worried it was too buttery, but now that it's on the wall I'm in love.<br />
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There are still a few things out there that need to find a home; like the bike and the car seats, but over all it's looking pretty nice out there.<br />
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We even bought some furniture for out there. As you can see the little pug has claimed her spot.<br />
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I still have to finish up some trim and patch some holes and then do some touch ups, but it's about 80% done. The next project is to measure and make curtains for all of those windows. That is going to be a project.<br />
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And here's a reminder of what the porch looked like when we moved in, just to show you the progress we've made.<br />
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It's quite a difference. But now we love sitting out on the porch enjoying the outside with out actually being out there. Don't judge, the mosquitoes have been awful this year. I like to get up early and sit out here and bead, it's just so lovely. <br />
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Now to think of accent colors and get to decorating. Yay!!!Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-8490410644018436612013-07-08T13:40:00.001-05:002013-07-08T13:40:32.021-05:00July 2013 GoalsIt's a week into July and I still haven't posted our goals for this month. What was I thinking? Okay, so it was a holiday week and I did have an art show, so I guess I can use that as an excuse. <div>
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But anyway, lets get to those goals. This month we want to get a lot of outside stuff done. The inside stuff can wait, we want to take advantage of the nice weather while we have it. </div>
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<b>1. Paint the sun porch</b></div>
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The sun porch was dark wood paneling when we bought the house. Last fall I started priming the walls and getting ready for paint. This month we want to finish up all the painting in there so we can start using it for something other then storage. </div>
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<b>2. Call Diggers Hotline</b></div>
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We need to have diggers hotline come out here before we can start on the deck, so that we know where we can and can not dig. This one is an easy one and should only take a few minutes to do.</div>
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<b>3. Clean out the little play house</b></div>
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J has been using the play house in the back yard for storage the last year or so. The house really needs to come down because the wood is rotting and a small gang of little creatures have decided to call it home. </div>
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<b>4. Draw up deck plans</b></div>
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We need to finish up our plans for the deck and make an appointment with the permit department. We're hoping to work on this soon, so we can get started as soon as possible. </div>
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<b>5. Cut up large logs</b></div>
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When we had the tree cut down earlier in the year, we asked them to leave the tree so we could use it for fire wood. Unfortunately, the left it in huge pieces in the back yard. The pieces are so large we can not more them, so we are waiting for J's parents to come with a chain saw to get rid of them. We need them gone if we are gong to build the deck. </div>
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<b>6. Fix the down spouts</b></div>
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All the down spouts around our home are about 2-3 feet off the ground. We need to lengthen them so the reach the ground. Right now if you aren't paying attention, you will run into them with your knees. We also would like to put the ends that fold up, so it is easier to mow under them. This will hopefully be an easy fix that we can knock out in a weekend. </div>
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<b>7. Fix the garage door</b></div>
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Our garage door makes the most god awful noise when you open or close it. J needs to realign it because it was not installed properly. </div>
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<b>8. Find out about gas line for garage</b></div>
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J would like to install a garage heater before winter this year, but this requires a gas line to be run to the garage. Hopefully after they come out and mark the gas line, we can call heating places and get some quotes.</div>
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<b>9. Finish coffee table</b></div>
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I would like to finish the paint on our coffee table. I stained it last year, but would like to paint the legs a lighter color this year. I'm hoping that this will be a simple afternoon project. </div>
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So that is what we have planned for this month. It is a long list, but I'm hoping we can get everything done. Most are smaller projects, so we should be able to tackle some all in one weekend. Wish us luck.</div>
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What does everyone else have planned for this month? Anything exciting? </div>
Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-77624081793359370442013-07-02T11:10:00.001-05:002013-07-02T11:10:25.502-05:00I've got veggies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvuSdUith2fHDoViLMCoa2WaSGsouwvD-R_nqedEkX7HN-aP49R4XYPYMFKlbHrAbSJi1QlpGOHJUlf6tkeAGoZ0dTXxaqww-BzVbJ_zzYVVIzk0CO7qTl2egPfOT5AO_tBnyORxEjOw/s1000/130601-Happiness-is.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvuSdUith2fHDoViLMCoa2WaSGsouwvD-R_nqedEkX7HN-aP49R4XYPYMFKlbHrAbSJi1QlpGOHJUlf6tkeAGoZ0dTXxaqww-BzVbJ_zzYVVIzk0CO7qTl2egPfOT5AO_tBnyORxEjOw/s550/130601-Happiness-is.jpg" /></a></div>
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I have veggies in my garden. Ones that I can harvest. My snow pea plant has been producing beautiful peas since last week, YAY! So this is my first harvest of the season. Well, actually my lettuce was my first harvest, but the snow peas are more exciting. I plan on making some <u><a href="http://threefatesgrowsup.blogspot.com/2012/07/soba-noodles.html">soba noodles</a></u> and a side of dumplings with these lovely snow peas. <br />
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Everything else in the garden looks good, so it's only a matter of time before they are ready to be harvested. Having a garden is so exciting. <br />
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Does anyone else have plants that are ready to be harvested? What are you eating out of your gardens? Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-91176625906594964012013-06-27T12:54:00.000-05:002013-06-27T12:58:29.388-05:00Let's Get PhysicalI had a good ol' physical yesterday. And I'm one healthy girl. The nurse was very happy with how healthy I was, I'm healthier then J. Oh yeah. That's what watching your caloric intake and making sure you live an active lifestyle gets you. It does pay off. And it means you don't have to give up any of the things you love, like cookies and cheeseburgers, you just have to eat less of them. But anyway, the physical was for my insurance change. J's insurance requires physicals before coverage begins. So by next month I'll have new insurance. Which will hopefully save us some money. <br />
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And then this morning when I got to work this was waiting for me. <br />
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At first I thought it was a joke the guy from the lab down the hall was playing. He does that. But I recognized the hand writing as our grad student. The grad student that is scared to death of snakes. So I knew it wasn't a joke.<br />
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And low and behold, this was under the ice bucket.
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The little ball python that had made a daring escape a few weeks ago. The lab he belongs to had torn apart their lab and the surrounding labs. But this little devil made it down the hall around the corner and hid out behind our fridge in the hall for a few weeks (we think). Then this morning he decided to venture into our lab.<br />
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And our grad student just happen to be in here at 5:00 am, so she was the first to find him. She put a bucket on him and left the lab until I got there. I told her I was proud at how calmly she handled the situation. If it was a huge spider (which I know are in the building) I would have freaked out.<br />
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But he is now happily back in his lab. He was climbing all over his little snake hut, I'm sure looking for a way to escape again. They were extremely grateful that we had found him. They are lucky that we found him and not one of the other labs that didn't know he was missing. <br />
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He's definitely a sneaky little shit. He tried to escape his box four times while I watched him this morning. And the last time he grabbed on to the side and fought me putting him back in. Luckily he's a tiny guy, so he was easy to man handle. <br />
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He was pretty scared and, by the looks of it, very hungry. His skin was very baggy and he was breathing very hard. So I'm sure he's (sorta) happy he's back at home, getting fed and taken care of. Yes, he's a research animal, no I don't know what kind of research they are doing with him, but I do know they usually adopt out the snakes when they are done, so don't worry. They do a lot of reptile research, including respiratory research and anti-venom research (no this snake is not venomous). This research is needed to help reptiles in captivity as well as in the wild. <br />
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So that was my exciting morning. Helping a little ball python make it back to his home. I kinda wanted to keep him and have him as our lab pet. It would have been so much fun having a little lab snake, except that he would eventually get to be a big lab snake. And we don't want that. ;-) Oh the joy of working in a vet school. Now if only something cute would wander into our lab. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-33440729414687066892013-06-25T07:30:00.000-05:002013-06-25T07:30:01.681-05:00What was I doing?I had something ready for today and now I can't find it. So you'll just have to do with a cute kitten picture again today. ;-)<br />
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Look at that adorable face. I do have to say the great thing about working at a vet school is that everyone <b>ACTUALLY</b> wants to see pictures of your cat. We've all decided that she is an adorable kitten. She is really well behaved as well. Now if only we could trade Toonces in for this little one. I'm joking. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-31214765510562884422013-06-24T07:30:00.000-05:002013-06-24T07:30:00.988-05:00All MulchedI finally got my butt outside and finished up the driveway planter this past weekend. I know it took me over a week to add three more bags of mulch. What was up with that? Well <u><a href="http://threefatesgrowsup.blogspot.com/2013/06/kitten.html">my insomnia</a></u> was slowing me down. But I'm feeling a lot better and I think I might be back to my old self. So after my show this weekend, I decided that I needed to get my butt out there and finish up the mulch. <br />
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This is what the planter looked like for the past week.<br />
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Half finished. And yes, that rake sat there all week as well. I know, I'm quite the classy homeowner. <br />
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Well here is what it looks like now.<br />
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Looking pretty good. It looks a lot better then it did. And now we can plant our awesome arctic kiwi and then maybe by next summer we'll have some fruit.<br />
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My little owl looks so happy in his new mulch. And maybe some day we'll fix that down spout, well we'll fix all the down spout. Maybe after we paint.<br />
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Here are my happy front step herbs. The bottom planter is cilantro, the middle is oregano, and the top are green onions. And look at those awful those steps look. We're hoping to fix those this year as well.<br />
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And because I haven't shared my newest addition, here is the new fern that is hanging outside the front door. A funny story about this fern, Nacho freaked out after I hung it. She actually hissed at it and then ran away. For the rest of the day she would not come into the living room. She's over it now, but it was kinda funny at the time. Oh our crazy neurotic cat.<br />
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Anyway, our driveway planter is all mulched and now I can start planting. Oh wait, we need to paint first. So many things to do. <br />
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So what did everyone else do this past weekend? Finish up any of those half finished projects or did you start some more?Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368231747274451954.post-85511741548239277892013-06-21T17:17:00.001-05:002013-06-21T17:19:55.967-05:00Garden Update - June 2013So I wanted to update everyone on how the garden was looking one month in, but then this happened this morning.<br />
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It poured and poured and poured. I felt so bad for our neighbors, they are having a garage sale today. <br />
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These pictures were taken at 10:00 this morning, and it's that dark out. Then after the heavy stuff fell, a lite drizzle stuck around for a few hours more. Yuck. But I guess it's better then last years drought.<br />
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Luckily the sun has now decided to come out and I was able to sneak outside and get some updated photos of the garden. If you don't remember what the plants looked like a month ago, click <u><a href="http://threefatesgrowsup.blogspot.com/2013/05/now-wait-begins-garden-update-may-2013.html">HERE </a></u>to see.<br />
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Here are the broccoli and kohlrabi. Just a month ago they were little sprouts, now they are about 6-8 inches high.<br />
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Here are the snow peas. These babies are by far the best looking plants in my garden. They are huge. Those bamboo steaks are about three feet high to give you an idea of how big these babies are.<br />
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Here are the onions, as well as some lettuce. I spilled a bunch of lettuce seeds accidentally and low and behold, they popped up among the onions.<br />
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And speaking of lettuce, here is the rest of my green leaf lettuce. The taller stuff is the first harvest and the smaller stuff is the second. You can continually grow lettuce all summer, so I try to plant a few rows every few weeks. That way we will have fresh lettuce all summer. *The copper is to keep the slugs away, I've had one hell of a time with the slugs this year.*<br />
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My basil plant is looking great. I've actually cut it back two or three times already. I think I might need to cut it back again. Remember, the more you cut back, the fuller the plant will be.<br />
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My tomatoes and peppers are looking good. The juliet tomatoes are growing like a weed and are covered in buds. <br />
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My lemon boys and black krims have tomatoes already. I've never grown these varieties before, so I was surprised to have tomatoes already. <br />
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I have a pepper growing as well. These are suposed to be green bell peppers, but I think I might have mislabeled them, because they sure don't look like any bell pepper I've grown before. Mystery peppers!!!<br />
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My carrots are looking good. I can't wait to try these. I planted two very cool varieties this year. I really need to mulch this last bed. It's on the list for this weekend. <br />
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My parsley is taking over like every year. This plant is about four years old. I planted it while we were still in our old apartment. It made the move with us and keeps coming back. <br />
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Then there is the chocolate mint. It's such a great fragrant plant. I just cut it back yesterday, so it looks a little on the sad side, but give it a couple days and it will be twice the size. I'm propagating some mint for friends. It's really easy to do, I'll show you guys how next week. <br />
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And last, but not least, I give you a cucumber sprout. I have had to replant my zucchini and cucumbers three times now because the slugs have just devoured them. I tried every homemade remedy I could find and nothing worked, a sprout would come up and the slugs would eat it. So I finally gave in and went and got some commercial slug pellets and that solved the problem. So now I'm hoping this last crop will sprout and produce wonderful cucumbers and zucchini. <br />
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So that is what the garden looks like a month after it's been planted. I can't wait to enjoy the fruits of my labor. It sometimes can be hard work, but it's total worth it. Check back next month to see where everything is at three months.<br />
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Have a great weekend everyone. Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13893389570447888654noreply@blogger.com0